Thank You
by PostLifeSyndrome
Summary: Maya helps Krieg, and Krieg thanks her.


Maya watched as Krieg ran joyfully into the fray, plumes of blood and viscera marking his path. She always saved her Phaselocks when he was like this. Who knew when he'd need it? Granted, he could always heal himself via transformation, but sometimes he'd hit himself in the head so much that it didn't do him much good. So while he styled all over the crowd, she relaxed and shredded the edges with bullets and grenades. She was careful not to get lost in the slaughter though. She needed to be focused in case-

"TICK TOCK!"

-Krieg got in over his head. An Ultimate Badass Loader? Yup. That'd do it. That crowd had been awfully big, and it didn't help that metal was annoyingly hard to cut or explode. Aside from that, the loader's health was a bit high for Krieg's dynamite to take care of. Acting quickly, the Siren Phaselocked and slagged the offending loader, and ran over to where Krieg was chucking bombs at its helplessly suspended form. Thankfully the combination of his melee skills with her various awesome elemental abilities had eliminated the rest of the crowd, so she didn't have to run through anyone to reach her downed teammate.

Reaching him, Maya quickly jabbed one of the Anshin hypodermics into his heart, emptying its payload beneath his skin. As usual he didn't react much outside of going back to murdering the badass, which she joined in on; keeping it slagged so that it would die faster. Her Phaselock had recharged by now, so she froze it again, blasting one of its arms off with her Twin Teapot to make the fight easier. When it was freed, it damaged Krieg enough for him to transform again, and he promptly murdered it.

Maya stood back to stare at the explosion that consumed the robot with a sense of gratified appreciation. Though Athenas might have been more beautiful in the classical sense, there was something about blowing up a giant robot with your psychopathic friend that surpassed even the most inspiring vistas from back home. She hadn't regretted her decision to come here even once since her arrival. The hard and fast life of a Vault Hunter was something she relished, and while some things weren't all too pleasant (getting slagged, Scooter's stench, Jack, Hyperion, Stalkers, Threshers, and whatever else she was forgetting), times like this made it worthwhile. Content with the conclusion of her train of thoughts, Maya refocused on the outside world to find something large blocking her vision.

* * *

While Maya had been staring at the charred and smoking ground where the Loader once stood, Lost in thought, Krieg had been getting urges from the voice in his head. Slow and careful, he shambled forward. He didn't usually get this close to people without malicious intent, but this woman was different. Somehow, she was more than just another innocent to be helped, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. As he shuffled ever closer to her still form, the massive Psycho wondered why he was doing this. Manners hadn't mattered much to him before, but some part of this woman made him suddenly care again, at least a little. Enough to make an effort.

* * *

As badass of a Siren as she was, Maya couldn't help but give a bit of a start at having Six-foot-plus of blood spattered muscle and aggression seemingly appear in front of her.

"Krieg! You shouldn't sneak up on me like that!"

The Psycho reacted to her outburst, but not in a way that she expected.

* * *

Krieg leaned forward, before ever so carefully wrapping his arms around her. Used to pushing things away, he found the act of pulling something as dangerous as a Siren close to him against every bit of instinct and experience he had.

_"Say: Thank You."_

* * *

The blood from his chest was smeared on her face, and she'd definitely have to wash this outfit. Despite his attempts at gentleness, the force applied by Krieg's arms on her was only barely within the realm of comfortable. Regardless, she held still for him. He bent a little further; close enough to bring his face to her ear.

"Nipple salads."

She should be uncomfortable right now, with fresh blood smeared on her front, and a psycho whispering nonsense in her ear like a sweet nothing, but this situation was as far removed from "uncomfortable" as she'd ever been. Instead, Maya felt contentment well up in her heart as she attempted to wrap her arms around Krieg and return the hug, smiling happily all the while. She hadn't regretted leaving Athenas to hunt the Vault before, but she was regretting it even less now.

* * *

_"Close enough."_


End file.
